JULY 20, 8:30am: The signing is official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
JULY 2, 7:53pm: Free agent point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Jazz, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
While terms of the deal weren’t mentioned, it figures to be a minimum-salary pact. Utah is using its cap room to take on Mike Conley, and has committed its room exception to Ed Davis.
Mudiay, a former seventh overall pick, enjoyed the most productive year of his NBA career in 2018/19 for the Knicks, averaging 14.8 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.3 RPG on .446/.329/.774 shooting in 59 games (27.2 MPG). He was eligible for a qualifying offer, but New York opted not to extend one, making him an unrestricted free agent.
While Mudiay hasn’t lived up to his pre-draft hype during his four NBA seasons, he’s still just 23 years. The Jazz want to help him develop, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links), who adds that Utah’s strong developmental program also appealed to Mudiay’s camp.
With Raul Neto hitting waivers as a cap casualty, Mudiay projects to come off the bench along with Dante Exum as Conley’s backups at the point.
For not having much money, Jazz have signed 4 now. All seem to be good signings. Mudiay and Green both low risks, possibly decent reward signings.
1. Conley
2. Mitchell
3. Ingles
4. Bogdanovic
5. Gobert
1. Mudiay
2. Exum + Niang
3. O’Neale
4. Davis + Green
5. Bogdanovic
Plus possible more signings. They definitely have one of the best teams in the NBA and now have some good depth and vets. Maybe sign another SG/SF
Not sure if Bojan would be backup center
Tony Bradley backup C! 15 minutes in two years!
Bogdanovich at C? Not even a PF.
Jazz have had a quietly good offseason. They could make some serious noise in the reshuffled West next season.
Mudiay, like Vonleh, took a big step forward last year. Few players increase the FG % by 7 points over their career FG % in a single year. The Knicks did OK by him (unlike others), but they were too disorganized for him to go much further than he did. Not sure this is the right spot either, but maybe.